As technology continues to advance and the demand for access to information stored on computers connected to various networks continues to increase, network providers and network operators including traditional dial-up Internet service providers (ISPs), cable service providers, DSL service providers, etc., have continued to face more and more challenges in providing effective and efficient customer services including timely and cost-effective resolutions of problems experienced by their network customers or subscribers. Generally, the outside plant (also called network facility or network plant) for a network provider or network operator (e.g., cable or telephony data network operator) usually includes the various equipments and cabling that are not located within the residence of a user or subscriber. The outside plant may include cabling buried in the utility right-of-way on the subscriber's property, as well as any hardware attached to the outside of the property. Problems that occur in the outside plant may preclude the network operator or network provider from obtaining diagnostic data from the subscriber, for example, due to a failure of an equipment or cabling anywhere in the outside plant datapath). However, diagnostic data initiated from the subscriber side is generally valuable in isolating the location and cause of the problem since it allows the problem to be tracked from two sides. Furthermore, a network problem that is visible from the subscriber perspective may not be visible from the network operator's remote perspective because not all points in the outside plant are addressable or that they are not reachable via the common outside plant path.
Currently, such problems experienced by a subscriber are addressed by having the subscriber call the network operator's technical support and attempt to describe the problem. The technical support personnel then attempts to guide the subscriber or user through various network tests and settings of the subscriber's equipment (e.g., a cable modem, a DSL modem, etc.) and/or the subscriber's computer coupled to the subscriber's equipment. This is done typically in order to assess the problem more definitively than to rely on the problem description provided by the subscriber. This traditional or conventional process of network troubleshooting via landline voice connection is neither effective nor efficient. Subscribers often report secondary or irrelevant effects or symptoms that mask the true problem. Network technicians generally attempt to understand the problem based on the user's descriptions but the user generally does not have sufficient networking background and is not very familiar with various computer concepts and terminology. In order to trust that the subscriber is performing and interpreting the requested instructions and operations correctly, the technician often will run redundant and circular test processes. Even after such redundant tests, the technician may not be able to make much progress with the problem diagnosis and resolution. Consequently, the technician may have to recommend a truck roll (e.g., service call) so the problem can be seen first hand at the subscriber's location. In these cases, the field service technician will spend the first portion of the service call to run tests directly from the equipment and/or computer of the subscriber. Such a method for troubleshooting or solving problems is therefore ineffective and inefficient.